The Cave of Two
by The-Fanfiction-Princess
Summary: Set in Post Mark of Athena, our heroes are travelling to Epirus with Nico, to retrieve their lost comrades. The remaining demigods get sent on a side quest, which delays them even further. Everything goes wrong when Leo and Hazel fall into an ice cave. Inside said cave the temperatures drop every minute, creating high tension. A dramatic 5 Parts with a steamy conclusion.
1. Chapter 1

A cold wind blew and snow was falling. The chilliness put all the demigods in an even worse mood as they trudged on through the snowy landscape.

The six heroes (plus one Satyr) had landed their ship near a snowy town set in the vicinity of a scenic mountain. They needed a break to regroup before continuing their quest; to rest, gather supplies, and most of all try to recover emotionally.

Luckily, Nico was doing better, which counted one more demigod to fight alongside them. They had begun to travel to Epirus, with Nico's direction. But after many days of travel, they decided to rest for a day. The entire time Percy and Annabeth were in their thoughts.

However, some act of fate brought another small challenge to the six demigods. The great messenger god, Hermes, appeared in their path, hovering with his winged shoes over the frozen earth. He told them something of importance: Something valuable to their quest is at the top of the mountain, the same mountain they just happened to land next to.

Coincidence? Doubtful, Leo thought, frowning at the god. Leo knew it was only so long until some random god came along and had some hazardous chore for them.

After much persisting, the heroes gave up on trying to find out what the item was. The god insisted it was a secret. And, leaving the demigods in a much more frustrated mood then when he arrived, Hermes vanished. The friends blinked at each other, deliberating what to do next.

They all looked up the snowy mountain. "Well, I guess this is our first obstacle," Piper said, emotionless.

The rest of the demigods nodded absently, having no will to go on a side quest. But they did anyway. They made quick preparations, and set out after the mystery object. The group decided that Coach Hedge and Nico would stay on the ship and keep watch. Nico still wasn't at full strength; they didn't want him to slow them down. Plus, Leo figured he could help with the coordinates. Leo secretly wished that Frank had stayed on board. He had really been pining for a moment when he could just speak with Hazel, without the annoying ding-dong watching his every move.

He kept having dreams about Sammy Valdez. Every night. It sort of haunted him, in a way, and he wasn't sure if his ancestor was trying to send him a message or what. Whatever the reason, it was starting to freak Leo out. That's why he wished he could just talk to Hazel, just for a second… Maybe she knew why he was having crazy visions.

He couldn't make much sense of the dreams; scenes of Sammy and Hazel, settings back in the 1940's, all sorts of things that just confused Leo. The dreams and visions kept him awake, late at night, his mind reeling. The images were so confusing; Leo knew he had to share them with Hazel, before he went mad. But there was never a time.

He just pushed it away and tried to focus on important demigod-ish things. Things besides girls and random ancestors.

But the whole time he climbed the snowy mountain with the other demigods, Hazel kept reappearing in his mind.

The five demigods plowed on, pushing up the mountain. There were scattered trees and large rock faces. The landscape wasn't exactly forgiving. But really? When was anything easy for them?

The snow and ice was very erratic, some places thick, and others, thin. They had to maneuver around big snow drifts and across ice patches. It was very dangerous, but nothing a group of demigods couldn't handle.

* * *

After scaling the mountain for at least half the day, all the demigods were growing tired. They trudged even slower, and it seemed as if the mountain kept growing taller. The cold had chilled them to their bones and they felt as if their muscles were freezing up.

Piper tripped and fell face-first into the snow. When she landed, she looked as though she was content in just staying there, with no motivation to go on. Jason grunted, heaving her up out of the snow. She stood and shook her head, making snow fly everywhere. She looked at all of them with angry eyes, peering at them through snow covered bangs.

"This can't be what Hermes wanted us to do! We're not getting anywhere!"

"Oh, come on Pipes! We'll get there eventually!" Jason said, a little too forcefully. The rest of the demigods nodded numbly, as they continued to tread on.

Leo glanced behind him to see Hazel walking several paces behind the group. He looked back at Frank, who seemed to be pre-occupied with a granola bar he had just fished out of his back-pack. Leo resisted the urge to laugh at Frank, before falling back, in stride with Hazel.

As he approached he noticed she didn't look as foul as the rest of the demigods. She wasn't frowning or panting or complaining about the never-ending mountain. She was just walking. Walking peacefully behind the group, flicking at the icicles on the trees as she passed them.

"Hey."

"Hi," Hazel brightened, as if she was getting tired of walking alone. "Nice of you to join me."

"Well," Leo stuck his hands in his pockets, and smiled sheepishly, "I'm getting tired of all that complaining too."

"You're tellin' me!" Hazel laughed. "They were complaining far before we were even halfway there!"

Leo laughed out loud, realizing it was true. They were all acting like babies, him included. "Yeah, your right." He looked down at the ground and kicked a frozen rock.

"So, Hazel… I wanted to ask you about something." Leo began, sounding way too awkward for his liking.

"Anything," She smiled.

"Um… I've been seeing…" Leo bit his lip.

"Seeing what?"

"Well—" Leo was interrupted by a loud _Crrrack!_

"Wha—What was that?!" Hazel glanced around.

_Crrrack!_

Their attention then focused on the ground. "I think it's coming from our feet!" Leo said. The two looked at each other in panic, searching for a way out. Leo didn't exactly have time to think of a good plan, so he used what first came to mind.

"Run!"

Leo grabbed Hazel's hand and they began running on the ice and snow.

But the cracking became louder, and they hadn't run very many steps before it became deafening in their ears. The ground below them opened, like the mouth of a beast, and began swallowing them whole. Bits and pieces of the ground under them fell away. Hazel screamed bloody-murder as she began to fall first. Leo tried to find a foothold, to no avail. Everywhere he stepped, the ground just fell in. He finally found a sapling tree rooted to the ground. He held onto it with one hand and Hazel with the other.

"Hold on!" He yelled.

Leo pulled, struggling to heave their weight. Hazel screamed as her feet began to dangle.

Soon, he was almost out of the falling ground. He was about to pull them up when— _Crrr...crrr… CRACK!_

The tree and the ground beneath it caved, and they were sliding into the hole. Leo, Hazel and the tree, all falling with the snow and the ice.


	2. Chapter 2

Falling…

Falling down…

Falling deeper…

They fell weightlessly for what seemed like forever before the ground solidified. They tumbled down an icy snow pile, before finally landing on hard, cold rock.

Leo blinked, rolling over and sitting up. With the pitch-black darkness before him and the screaming muted, Leo panicked, searching for Hazel.

"Hazel?"

No answer.

"Hazel?!"

Her reply was weak and muffled. "Here…"

He immediately set his hand ablaze, scanning his surroundings. The ceiling was high, with gigantic icicles looming overhead. The hole in which they had fallen through had caved in, with the snow pile reaching towards the top. The walls were something of a spectacle. They were nearly transparent, made of solid ice. Leo's fire bounced off every side of the cave, illuminating almost every corner. One of which Hazel was lying in, semiconscious.

He rushed over, careful not to fall flat on the slippery floor.

"Hazel?" He sat by her side tentatively.

"Uhn…" Her eyes were closed and she didn't move.

He scooted closer and sat her up, leaning her against the wall.

"Can you hear me?"

"Oooh…" She brought up a hand to rub the back of her head. "Oh, what happened?"

"We fell… We fell through the ice. Like the mountainside caved in, or something."

"Oh yeah… An ice cave…" She blinked in remembrance and looked around. She took in the surroundings for a few seconds before Leo interrupted.

"What's your name?"

"What?"

"What's your name?"

"You know my name!" Her expression turned incredulous.

"Your right, I do know your name. But I want to make sure you don't have a concussion." He grinned.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Hazel, my name is Hazel."

"Hazel what?"

_ "Valdez!"_

"Hazel Valdez… Now that has a nice ring to it."

_Slap!_

"Ow! You didn't have to hit me! I'm tryin' to be helpful here!" Leo rubbed his cheek.

"If you want to be helpful, you can find us a way out." She stood shakily.

Leo stood up next to her. "You look like you could use some assistance!" He smiled and held his arm out to her, mimicking a gentleman. "Why don't we look around together, Miss Levesque? Shall we?"

"Certainly, Mister Valdez," Hazel said, facetiously.

They linked arms and began to catalog their new environment. The cave itself wasn't very big, just big enough for them to walk in a circle to check its perimeter. It was the ceiling that was intimidating. It stretched high above them, with twinkling icicles hanging down.

After the pair walked along the cave wall several times, they decided there was no easy way out.

Hazel stomped her foot. "This is impossible! This cave is just a cave! There are no tunnels or anything!"

"I'm sure we'll figure out something." Leo thought for a moment. "Hey! Can't you do that thing— that thing where you make the tunnels and stuff?!"

"Trust me, I thought of that." Hazel turned and walked away from him. She put her face and hand against the wall, as if listening to it. "This isn't an underground cave, Leo, its ice. Solid Ice. We're still technically above ground. I can't do anything."

She turned around and looked at him with troubled eyes.

"We're trapped."

"Oh please!" Leo said, smiling. "We have three super-powerful demigods who have no doubt noticed we're missing by now."

"But how will they find us? We fell fifty or even a hundred feet! And all the snow collapsing inside probably made it difficult to find the exact spot we fell in! It could take them hours or even days to find us! And I seriously doubt the temperature down here is warm enough to sustain us that long."

Leo's shoulders slumped. "Great… And you can't even poof us an escape tunnel."

Hazel's eyes blazed, fiery gold in the light of Leo's flame. "How about you, fire-boy?! Can't you just melt us a tunnel?"

"That wouldn't work," Leo turned serious. "With the tunnels structure, if I tried to melt a tunnel in the side, the whole wall could collapse, or the icicles would fall and skewer us. Melting the ice won't work."

"What about your tool belt? You don't have a giant drill or some grappling hooks or—"

"My tool belt!" Leo interrupted her, perking up at the thought of his baby. He turned off his flame and felt around his pants and his waist. His happy expression turned into one of panic. "Where _is_ my tool belt?"

Hazel stared at something far past him. She sighed sadly and pointed a finger up.

Leo followed her finger. He looked at the big snow heap that clogged up the hole in the cave ceiling. Right near the top, nearly at the roof of the cave, was the sapling. The same sapling Leo grabbed onto when they had begun to fall. And hanging from that sapling was none other than his tool belt.

"NO! NOT MY TOOL BELT!" Leo ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Fantastic," he sighed "no tool belt. I guess that tree wasn't very happy I ripped it out of the ground." Leo looked around the cave thoughtfully. "You know what, after narrowing down all those methods, I'm not sure if anything will work."

He looked back towards the unusually silent Hazel to see that she was tearing up. He immediately backpedaled.

"NO! Oh no! That's not what I meant! We'll get out! We just need some creative thinking, that's all!" He walked towards Hazel to wipe the tears off her face gently. She let him comfort her for a moment, before swatting his hand away.

"Just get away from me. There is no way out. We're stuck in here." She sniffed, walking away from him. She went to the opposite side of the cave. She sank down against the wall and put her head on her knees.

Leo wanted to comfort her, but he decided to give her some space. He sat down against the opposite wall and faced the crying Hazel. He sighed, realizing that he could sit here and think forever, but there really wasn't a solution. The only thing they could do was wait for their friends to find them.

He sat with Hazel in the silence for minutes, which turned into hours. He had an abundance of time and quiet to think. He could think about anything. He could think about his future, about his friends, about his dad, about girls, about the mission! But his mind kept coming back to one thing: Sammy Valdez.

He had to figure out what kind of message he was trying to send him. What did all those images have in common? Were they all in the same place? No. Were they all important events? No. Some of them were just random moments.

What was similar in the dreams? Leo wracked his brain, trying to remember everything about the dreams he'd been receiving.

There was one thing. They were always together. Sammy and Hazel. Sitting together, lying together, riding a horse together. All the dreams happened to be intimate moments, which Leo felt like a violator watching. But maybe that's what Sammy was trying to tell him. _Together…_

The gears began to turn in his head. He and Hazel had to stay together? Like boyfriend and girlfriend? No, that can't be it… Sammy wouldn't want him to mess up Frank and Hazel's relationship. Maybe to survive? Like teamwork? Cooperation? Leo couldn't guess.

As the silent hours wore on, Leo leaned his head back against the icy wall. It wasn't long until the temperature of the cave grew colder. But before he realized the frigid temperatures, the lulling silence and unforgiving darkness pulled him into a deep slumber.


	3. Chapter 3

Leo awoke to the sound of clicking.

Clicking? He hoped that they weren't getting attacked by giant bugs. Or evil galloping horses. That was the last thing he needed right now.

He opened his eyes sleepily and noted there were no giant clicking bugs. The cave looked exactly the same as when he fell asleep. Unfortunately that also meant no one had come to rescue them yet.

The clicking came again. Leo lit a fire in his hand and peered around the cave.

It was Hazel.

She had long since stopped crying and was glancing uncertainly around the cave. She looked at Leo as he awoke.

"I'm s-s-sorry, L-Leo. I'm s-so-sorry I s-snap-ped at you, e-earlier-r" she shivered.

"It's fine! No worries!" He waved it away. "I'm more worried about you. Is that your teeth?" He said in speculation. He began to stifle a laugh, finding it genuinely funny.

"Y-Yes! It's my t-teeth! How are you not f-freezing right n-now?!"

He pointed to himself and cleared his throat. "Hephaestus. God of Fire."

"R-Right… But that shouldn't-t make you i-im-immune to the c-cold." She shivered, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Your right, has it gotten colder since I fell asleep?" He rubbed his cold arms. "Anyway, it's just a bit harder to freeze me than a regular person. Maybe I have like a little mini fire inside my body" He poked at his stomach in mock curiosity.

"Well whoop-de-do for you!" Hazel said sarcastically. Leo looked sadly at her. He came to sit against the cold cave wall next to her and spread his arms wide with a big goofy smile.

"Come here!"

She just stared at him skeptically.

"Come on! I'm not going to burst into flames!"

She still stared at him, shaking as she shivered.

"Please? You're not going to freeze on my watch."

She finally scooted towards him and leaned into his arms. She shuddered as his warm body contrasted with hers.

"Good Lord! You're like a space heater!"

Leo grinned at this. "What'd I tell you?"

"Hmmm…" Hazel snuggled into his body with a smile. All was forgiven at that moment. Leo was content he and Hazel were on even ground now, so he sat in silence for a while, not wanting to ruin the peace.

Hazel wasn't exactly calm, as opposed to Leo. Despite the fact that Leo was warm and made her feel much better, she felt as though it was wrong. Frank was her boyfriend, no matter what. But Leo was so comforting and cared for her; she decided to stop being so worried and release her inhibitions… Just this once.

"No more teeth-chattering?"

"Nope!" She smiled wide, showing him her non-chattering teeth.

Leo looked down at her and laughed, and she laughed along with him.

Then they sat, staring at the cave walls. It was hard to keep a conversation going when you're trapped in an ice cave, Leo thought. There's not much to do, or see. Nowhere to go. It was very confined.

"Hey, didn't you have something you wanted to ask me? You know, before we fell in an ice cave?" Hazel said against Leo's chest.

"Oh… Yeah…" Leo had forgotten about it, distracted by Hazel's shivering. "So I've been having these visions…"

"Visions? Like the kind I have?"

"Yeah, sort of. They're like dreams. I keep seeing these images of you and Sammy," Leo coughed, realizing that sounded like he was in her personal business. "I just— I feel like he's trying to tell me something."

"Hm…" Hazel was quiet. "That's strange because…" She looked up at him. "I've been seeing visions like that too."

"Oh really? Phew!" Leo sighed. "That's a relief. Now I know I'm not crazy."

"No… you are crazy. Just not for that reason." Hazel smiled at him playfully, and it made his heart jump for just a moment. But he quickly regained his carefree demeanor.

"Haha! You're catching on fast, Miss Levesque!" Leo chuckled. He smiled, relishing in this moment, when he was truly happy. They were cheerful and content, despite their unfortunate predicament.

They spent the next hour or so huddled together, sharing stories of Sammy Valdez's life. It was obviously emotional for Hazel, but it was very interesting to Leo to learn about his great-grandfather. It was semi-uncomfortable for the pair because they steered clear of anything involving Hazel and Sammy's romantic relationship. Leo felt as though that wasn't something he had the liberty to speak about, and Hazel didn't want to make any tension between her and Leo.

But, despite that, they had a good and friendly conversation, while keeping warm. It kept their minds off the fact that they were trapped in an ice cave far from their friends. The odd thing was: they never really found out exactly what Sammy's message was.

Soon several hours had passed, and Leo was sure it was night now. Their eyes grew heavy and they were soon very close to sleep. Leo's head lolled back and he closed his eyes. Just as sleep was enveloping them, he made it official.

"Good night Hazel, sweet dreams."

Leo wasn't sure if she had heard him, or if she was already sleeping. But a few heartbeats later, she replied.

"Good night Leo."

Leo hoped the gods of sleep were wishing them well, because he sure needed some. Just as he was about to slip into slumber, Hazel startled him.

"Hey Leo?" She asked sleepily.

"Yeah?"

"Don't let me freeze, okay?"

Leo was taken aback by the sudden proposition of trust. But if he knew there was one thing he could do, it was keep his friends safe.

"I won't."


	4. Chapter 4

Hazel didn't think she had ever been this cold in her entire life. Or lives, to be exact.

The temperature had dropped at nauseating speeds since night had fallen, and it was colder than anything Hazel had ever experienced. The change in temperature was so extreme it had pulled her right out of her wonderful snooze.

In the night, Leo had fallen over and was now sleeping sideways. Hazel had slid off him and was now lying on the cold icy floor. She heaved herself up, leaning against the cave wall. Shivering and shaking, she brought her knees to her chest, trying to conserve as much heat as possible.

She literally thought she was dying. She looked at her hands, which had turned purple. She wouldn't be surprised if her feet looked similar. Tendrils of bitter cold were seeping into her body, freezing her from the inside as well as out. She didn't want to die in a cave. Not like before.

"Woah…" Leo mumbled, stirring in his place in the floor. "Did someone turn on the AC?"

Hazel didn't speak. Her whole face felt frozen and immobile, and she didn't feel like trying to reply.

Leo eventually sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Man, it is r-really cold." He shivered.

"T-tell me about it." Hazel managed, her voice cracking.

"But we'll get out soon." Leo sat next to Hazel, trying to be optimistic as usual.

Time passed in minutes, and then hours, and there was no sign of a rescue squad. It was too cold for them to sleep, or even talk comfortably. The two demigods were going to freeze.

Leo shivered now that the cold was finally getting to him.

Hazel never spoke, having neither ideas nor will to speak.

"We've been down here for too long. We're going to die if we don't do something." He finally said.

Hazel looked silently at the icy floor with expressionless eyes.

Leo moved and took off his jacket. He put it on the ground next to him and looked pointedly at Hazel.

"W-What are you—?"

"Take your jacket off."

"No! Why?"

"You just h-have to trust me." He looked at her pleadingly. She stared at him as if he had gone insane, which was very well plausible in this situation. But she finally caved, tugging her jacket off. Leo pulled her to him, enveloping her in his warm embrace. The heat infinitely increased, their bodies warming as one, separated only by the thin fabric of their shirts.

They shuddered against each other, hoping, praying that they wouldn't freeze. Hazel pressed closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her, as she curled into him.

"Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to die here."

"You're not going to die." Hazel trembled, feeling Leo's warm breath on her neck. "Remember? I promised." He buried his face in her hair and said "We're together, we'll be okay."

Despite how right it felt, every muscle in Hazel's body screamed that it was wrong. They screamed to stop. They screamed in protest, in honor of Frank. But without Leo's warmth, Hazel was going to freeze. And it's just to stay warm, right? Only to stay warm, Hazel reassured herself. This has no meaning. We're just trying to survive.

But there was a nagging suspicion in the back of her partially frozen brain. A nagging suspicion that trying to stay warm wasn't the only reason.

The temperatures seemed to grow even colder at the night pressed on. Hazel knew this was the end. She was going to die in an ice cave far from Frank, with Sammy's great-grandson by her side.

How ironic.

But, luckily, Sammy's great-grandson had other plans.


	5. Chapter 5

"We have to find a way to get warmer."

Hazel shivered weakly against Leo. They had been here for far too long. He knew she was freezing. She was freezing and it was his fault. He felt like Sammy Valdez knew this was going to happen. Sammy Valdez had tried to warn him, tried to tell him to do something.

He'd tried to tell him to protect Hazel.

But now, in their frozen prison, Hazel was going to die. Leo had failed to fulfill Sammy Valdez's wishes.

Anger filled Leo and made his body temperature increase. He had failed everyone in his life, and he was tired of failing. He wanted to protect Hazel, like Sammy told him too. And maybe not just because Sammy told him to. Maybe because he actually liked Hazel.

_Who would have thought?_ Leo mused to himself. The southern zombie girl and the messed up Mexican kid. But there was still Frank. So even if they did survive this, Leo still didn't have a free shot.

Leo's mind whirred. The cold was getting to him as well; getting under his skin, making it hard to move, hard to think.

But then he got an idea.

He pulled away from Hazel and held her in front of him, just inches from his face. Their normally invisible breath clouded each other's faces for a moment as Leo paused.

"You're gonna have to let me do this."

Hazel's breathing was low and shallow as she looked at him. Leo was amazed such golden eyes could contain so much trust and uncertainty at the same time.

"No," She breathed, almost silently.

"You—You just have to trust me."

He pushed forward and kissed her bluing lips. They were dry and frozen, just like his, but they were wonderful just the same. Their lips went together like puzzle pieces, meshing perfectly. The two demigods came to life like wind-up toys. They moved against one another, creating friction and heat. They both needed this, whether Hazel wanted it or not, Leo thought. The kiss might be the only thing keeping them from freezing.

It was like nothing he had ever experienced before. They're had never been another person that filled his body with such warmth. He brought his shaking hands up and framed Hazel's face, pulling her closer towards him.

Her petite hands came to wrap around his wrists, holding them in place. His warm hands combined with his lips on hers had created a fire inside her body. She became mobile now. She moved, without thinking, and straddled Leo, pressing closer to him, kissing him deeper.

There was something familiar about his lips. She felt like they had kissed before, although she knew they hadn't. She then realized that she had missed kissing Sammy, and that was where the familiarity came from. It took her back to another time, a time she remembered so well. It had been so long since those days… So many lonely years…

Suddenly, there was a warm light in front of her closed eyelids.

She didn't want to open her eyes, or stop kissing Leo, but she did. Just for a moment, she snuck a quick look. Opening just one eye, with Leo's lips still on hers, she immediately saw the problem.

She parted their lips reluctantly. "Leo?" Hazel said, breathing hard.

"Hm…?"

"Your hair," She smiled against his lips.

Leo's hair had caught fire, and was blazing a little flame in their cave. The light bounced off the high, dark roof of the cave, reflecting off all the icicles. When Hazel looked around, she was awed by display. It looked as though all the little flames were glowing crystals, making the cave shimmer like fire.

"It's on—"

"_Cierra la boca y me besa," _Leo murmured, a whisper against her lips. Without ever even opening his eyes, he wrapped his arms around Hazel's waist, and pressed their lips together again. Even though she still had no idea what he said, Hazel didn't protest.

She devoured his lips like a little girl who never got to go to the candy store. Molding together until they forgot they were cold. Their bodies moved as one as if they would never separate again.

There was a noise outside the cave wall. A distant dull noise.

The couple didn't hear it; they were too wrapped up in each other.

The noise grew closer, creating a louder sound. A scratching, a scraping.

Leo and Hazel still hadn't noticed. He crushed his lips to hers, with all the fire that was his persona. She brought her hands up and twisted them up in his curly black hair. He moaned against her lips, not even remotely concerned about anything else.

Then, the scratching became a pounding uproar, and before the two demigods knew it, a huge crash erupted behind them.

Snow and crushed ice puffed up around them, clouding the cave.

Hazel yelped, falling off Leo and rolling on the ground in a tangle of dark limbs. Leo leaned against the cave wall, breathing hard, trying to regain his wits. He coughed, peering through the hazy fog and waving away the dust and powder.

Hazel pulled herself to a sitting position with Leo's help just as the fog was beginning to clear. They squinted across the cave to see what looked like a giant mole.

There was a giant mole, with two other demigods riding it, poking out of a hole in the cave wall. It sniffed its hideous nose around, with half of its body still outside the cave.

"Oh my word…" Hazel breathed. "It's Frank." She was clearly as shocked as Leo, realizing that her boyfriend had rescued them… _as a giant mole._

"Leo! Hazel!" Piper squealed with delight, trying to find them in the fog.

The cloud was clearing faster. Hazel leaned towards Leo desperately and grabbed his arm, pulling him merely inches from her.

She whispered in his ear. "We must never speak of this, alright? It was only to stay warm."

Leo was expressionless, but Hazel saw something in his eyes that made her feel awful.

Hazel glanced at Frank and the others, making sure they were still out of viewpoint. Then she wheeled right around again and planted a firm kiss on Leo, full on the lips. It was short, passionate, and it said far more than Hazel could have ever spoken.

She pulled away quickly and smirked at him. Leo smirked just the same. _"No me voy a olvidar este."_

Hazel just shook her head, almost laughing. She knew she would never know what he said, but she loved it anyways.

Then they rose together and ran to the others. "Frank!" She called innocently.

The two demigods went back with the others to the _Argo II._ After taking wonderfully warm showers, they told them about the ice cave and how they somehow _miraculously_ survived.

Leo, now reunited with his friends, tried his best to not smile like he had a dirty secret. But it proved to be quite difficult.

* * *

That night, Jason and Piper lay on the dock of the _Argo II._ The heroes had finally retrieved a large silver sword from the top of the mountain. It glittered like freshly fallen snow, and the demigods had no idea what its purpose was yet. But, they would soon find out as their journey progressed.

Happy to be back, safe and sound on the _Argo II,_ Piper and Jason cuddled together on a blanket in the chilly weather, watching the stars. Something kept nagging at Piper's conscience, so she decided to just spit it out.

"Hey Jason?"

"Hm?"

"When we found the ice cave today…" She coughed, having a hard time putting her question to words. "Did you see Leo and Hazel—I mean… Uh…"

"Did I see them what?"

"Did you see them," She cleared her throat. "_Kiss?"_

Jason resisted the urge to laugh out loud in the quiet night. Piper was far more uncomfortable talking about this then he was.

"Yes, Pipes. I saw them." He chuckled quietly.

Piper was relieved. But she still pondered about their friend, who had been a blind mole when they arrived in the ice cave. She felt horrible knowing this and not telling anyone, so spilling the news to Jason got a lot off her chest. But there was still one problem.

"Were you planning on _telling_ Frank?"

Jason looked at her with mock innocence. "Telling Frank what?"


End file.
